


Can I Come?

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post "Chosen", Post Season 07, Post Series, Post Sunnydale, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 18:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1084473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Sunnydale: Everyone goes separate ways. What's Faith's plan?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Come?

**Author's Note:**

> I felt Faith deserved this little story. Hope you like it.

Two days later, they had - finally! - managed to find a decent motel which, most importantly, didn't fuss over their ragged appearance, and also accepted Giles' British Council credit card. So much had changed in a few hours when they had escaped the crumbling little town their life had evolved around for years, and almost equally as much had changed during those two days they had spent on the road. Willow and Kennedy had broken up, Buffy and Xander renewed their friendship, Dawn suddenly turned into an adult, Faith broken up with Robin; everyone felt relieved and troubled to the same extent. This was new, their lives had turned into this blank thing they were allowed to write new, previously uncertain things on. All the chapters during which they had struggled to survive were suddenly a part of the past, and of the past only. Cleveland was going to be an option for many among them all, but they all knew that they would eventually have to separate, that not everybody pursued the same goal anymore. 

Their future was still vague; all the more was their past written and sealed. Obviously, this had the strongest effect on Buffy and Faith. After long discussions with her watcher, Buffy had decided to take some time off from slaying and spend a few months in Rome with Dawn, to clear her head, to form a new bond with her sister, and to find out what she wanted from her new life. Everyone was very understanding towards her; after all, she had done the job for almost half of her life, with very few interruptions, and on top of that, she shared her power with every potential Slayer in the world - thanks to Willow. 

Faith, on the other hand, saw no other purpose to her life than to slay: to hunt and defend. The years had changed her; whilst her attitude was more or less the same towards everyone, she knew she was not that wild, careless girl anymore: not the cheeky, dark, seductive predator she had been before. Upon closer inspection, one would have noticed that, out of the bunch of slayers, she had become the calmest and most reasonable one, the strongest and most considered warrior among them. Buffy, of course, had saved the world with an idea that beat everything else anyone had ever thought of in the course of fighting evil -- but had anyone bothered to look more closely, they would have recognized Faith - just as they would have Xander - as the taciturn backbone, the hidded strength of the group. 

Giles had been the only one to notice, but been unable to disengage himself from his infallible sense of tact, and instead refrained from addressing the matter in front of the others. To speak to Faith tête-à-tête though, he couldn't bring up the courage. He had always felt rejected by the girl in one way or the other. Of course, their relationship had improved quite a bit recently, but then again, it had with everyone else to just the same extent. He never knew what to make of her, how to guess her opinion, her silent judgement over him. She always seemed to succeed in hiding her feelings from everyone - maybe even from herself, he used to tell himself with a smirk, far too familiar with such a habit himself. The fight against evil had always been what had driven his actions, had been the singular issue upon which he had founded his life, and he felt that ever since her - more obvious - change from the openly careless slayer, she had done the same. 

After a few nights at the motel in a town whose name would soon be forgotten by everyone among them, the time came to go separate ways. Xander was going to accompany Dawn and Buffy to Italy; Robin announced he was going to look for long-lost family members that reportedly lived in Vancouver; Willow longed to see the coven in Devon again. Everyone was going to resume a life they had either led in a very distant past, or imagined very recently. Giles, having been appointed new Head of Council by Wesley during a late-night phone call, was obliged to travel to London to sort out Council matters and watch over official actions in Cleveland - which Wesley had promised to participate in, and find warriors for - from there. Goodbyes were said, tears cried, wishes and promises exchanged, hugs disentangled. Amidst the hustle and bustle of departure, it had been forgotten to ask Faith. Most among their group took the same bus to the next city, leaving Giles, who was going to stay at the motel for a few more days to organize his trip from there, and Faith standing at the side of the road, waving, smiling, encouraging. As the Greyhound left, Giles following it for a few yards, Faith stood at the kerb, thumbs hooked around her belt loops, giving a last brief nod in the bus' direction. 

When Giles, after having stared at the horizon behind which they all had disappeared for a bit, finally returned to the motel, Faith sat on the stairs in front of the entrance, playing with one of her rings, looking shattered. As soon as she saw him, she displayed a crooked smile. With a flush of guilt, Giles realized she had been forgotten. He silently joined her on the stairs, resting his elbows on his knees, letting his gaze wander. After uncounted minutes of silence, she finally spoke. "London, huh?"  
He removed his glasses to clean them with the edge of his shirt. "Yes, I-I suppose so. I have to, um, carry out my new duties." She shot him a brief glance and gave a hint of a nod. "Congrats, G. Bet you hadn't expected to get chosen to be Head of Council. Must be proud."  
He inspected his glasses, making her wait for his answer. "I'm not sure," he admitted after a while, then, when he heard her draw a breath, quickly added, "I-I mean I ... I'm okay with it, I guess. You know there is hardly anyone else left." She looked at him for the first time and met his eyes for a moment. "I know," she croaked. 

A moment passed before he spoke again, his voice unexpectedly tender and careful. "And you, Faith?"  
Her shoulders dropped, and she suddenly seemed awfully intrigued by her shoes. "I don't know," she almost whispered. Giles put his glasses into his breast pocket, then folding his hands in his lap, not sure what to say. He was about to suggest her accompanying him to England, but didn't dare to. She had never been very keen on company, and he felt his proposition could possibly irritate her. He knew she had always tried to appear strong and independent, a lone and possibly vicious wolf; he immediately found himself comparing her to himself when a young man, and the thought made him smile. She sighed; then, after a split-second of gathering her courage - the courage she only ever let surface when the other one, the thoughtless, soulless warrior courage she had perfectioned, was absent - looked at him and saw him smile. Had it been in any other situation, his expression would probably have intimidated or irritated her; there was nothing obvious to smile about now, and yet, it oddly comforted her. She swallowed.

"Can I come?"  
She had meant it to sound very nonchalant and trivial, but it came out the way she felt: shy and pleading. To hold his surprised gaze, she didn't dare, so she lowered her eyes again; that way, she didn't see his warm hand approaching and flinched at his tender touch on her shoulder. "To England?," he simply asked, suddenly something very caring in his voice. She nodded without looking at him. In a heartbeat, his mind ran through a few possible scenarios that could be a result of her company in London, but ignored them all and listened to the annoyingly persistent, but warm feeling that seemed to keep poking his chest from the inside. "Of course you can," he finally answered, and he could practically see the weight of a whole universe on her shoulders crumble and dissolve. She looked at him and gave a shy smile, but he knew it to be as genuine as it had been only upon very few occasions. "Thank you," she almost whispered. He just smiled and nodded, then, upon an impulse, gave her a small hug which she readily returned; they separated almost hastily afterwards, the awkwardness of the situation embarrassing both of them slightly. The moment was unquestionably over.

"But let's clarify one thing, G: You don't have to look after me. And I'm not really one for the huggies, either. This was an exception." She stood up, hands back in her pockets. Almost inside the motel again, she yelled, "I'm gonna go pack now. You comin'?"  
Giles finally put his glasses back on and smiled at the horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I own only what came out of my own head (including all my mistakes, obviously).  
> Thank you so much for reading! :)  
> Please let me know what you think - it would make my day! :)


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